


Waking Up Early

by Nigaki



Series: Tamed West [7]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28290798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nigaki/pseuds/Nigaki
Summary: When you have your own ranch, sometimes you need to wake up early to tend for animals. Other times you wake up early because your son drags you out of bed when the sun isn't even up yet.
Relationships: John Marston/Arthur Morgan
Series: Tamed West [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1585225
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	Waking Up Early

**Author's Note:**

> This is my gift for simping-for-sadie for Morston Secret Santa. One of the prompts was Arthur and John having daddy time with Jack and this is what I picked to write, setting the story in my Tamed West series :)

It was still dark outside when Arthur woke up because of excited footsteps and paw clicks just outside their bedroom. He opened one eye and looked at the darkness in the room, noticing that his Catahoula, Bonny, was awake on her bed in the corner as well and staring at the door, waiting for it to be open.

Arthur wanted nothing more than to burrow himself further under the thick, warm duvet and into equally warm John’s arms, but going back to sleep was pointless when he would have to get up soon anyway.

With a yawn, he turned to face John who was sleeping behind him, curled around his back. The younger man frowned through his sleep because of the change in position but otherwise didn’t wake up, just snuggled closer into the pillow and fell back into the deep sleep.

Arthur smiled at him and brushed his long hair from his cheek, tempted to let him sleep longer. But John was going to thank him for waking him and letting him prepare for the inevitable that could happen at any moment now.

Humming, he leaned closer and placed the first kiss on John’s face, right over his nose. John scrunched it but was still asleep. Liking a challenge, Arthur tried again, this time kissing the unscarred cheek. It only made John snore quietly. Arthur huffed, amused. They both became hard to wake up now that they didn’t need to worry about being attacked at any moment. Within the safety of their ranch, they could enjoy every night without always being on high alert and tense.

He never remembered any of them sleeping in the gang’s camp like they were sleeping now. John was practically boneless under the sheets, an unmovable deadweight while in the past he would be tense even during sleep. It was a nice change they both enjoyed but in moments like this, when they needed to wake each other, it was a pain in the ass.

Thinking about just pinching the other man, Arthur leaned closer one last time and kissed his nose again. This time it did the trick, his stubble tickled John enough to make him huff through his nose and flutter his eyes open.

They were unfocused for a second, John had no idea what was happening, only that it wasn't anything dangerous because he was still relaxed. Finally, his body got back to life and he pulled his arm from under the heavy duvet and additional blanket to rub at his still tickling nose as his eyes focused on Arthur. 

“What time is it?” he asked. No good morning or even a kiss, just this and a wide yawn.

“Much too early to wake up,” Arthur replied.

John frowned at him with his sleepy eyes. He looked too adorable for a former outlaw that was feared by many. “Then why the hell you woke me up?” he demanded, stretching his long body to pop all his joints back in place and ease the stagnation from the muscles.

“Shut up and listen, you’ll know.”

Confused, John lifted himself on his elbow, making sure he was still wrapped tightly in the sheets to keep the cold out, and listened intently for a few seconds till he heard what woke Arthur up. With a grown, he fell back onto the pillows, shushed by Arthur. “What?”

“Don’t ruin his fun,” Arthur explained in a hushed tone and got comfortable, snuggling close to John who laid on his back. John wrapped an arm around him without even thinking, bringing their bodies close to share the heat.

“They’re so loud there is no chance he doesn’t know he woke us up already,” John whispered back and rubbed at his eyes. “Why can’t he wake up on a decent hour?”

“Maybe because someone promised him fun all day?” Arthur suggested with a raised eyebrow. John scowled at him. “You can only blame yourself. For kids, the day starts as early as they wake up. You should’ve told him it starts at 8 or something.”

“Yeah, I should’ve,” he sighed tiredly and closed back his eyes, hugging Arthur tightly. “Don’t wanna wake up,” he complained.

“I swear you’re worse than a kid sometimes,” Arthur chuckled quietly, stroking John’s back through his union suit.

“Shut up, I'm trying to sleep.”

Arthur let out another chuckle. “Sorry, sweetheart, no sleep for you.” He kissed the younger man’s forehead, making him burrow himself deeper under the sheets and Arthur's chest. “That’s the life of a rancher.”

John whined. “Is it too late to become a bounty hunter?” he mumbled. “Bounty hunters can sleep however long they want.”

“Bounty hunters are also shot at,” Arthur reminded him with an amused smile. “I thought you was tired of that?”

“It has some appeal when you have to choose between this and getting out of bed at such an ungodly hour,” he complained, tugging the duvet over his head, hiding from the world. “Wake me up at 7.”

Just when he said that, hurried footsteps reached their door, followed by the stomping of a very excited dog. “I think you gonna wake up now,” Arthur whispered to John, wanting to laugh because of his miserable expression when he stuck his head back out.

They both closed their eyes, pretending to be asleep when the door to their bedroom was opened with a squeak. Jack entered quietly, at least in terms of steps because he wasn't really quiet with his excited giggling. Rufus, who was always following the boy whenever Jack was staying for the weekend, barked happily.

“Shh!” Jack hushed him quickly, as if he also wasn’t making enough noise to wake up even drunk Uncle. Rufus huffed and followed Jack as the boy creeped in darkness towards the bed.

Arthur couldn’t help but smile at the game Jack was playing and when he opened his eyes, just for a moment, he noticed John smiling too. 

John definitely was grateful now for waking him up when Jack jumped with a yell onto their bed and at them, along with Rufus. Arthur groaned when a knee dug itself into his kidney. John shared a similar fate, only he squealed like a little girl when Rufus' cold and wet nose found its way into his ear. It was still better than being woken up like that out of nowhere. Arthur was sure that after such a violent wake up call he would, out of habit, reach for his gun he kept under the pillow and he really didn’t want to scare Jack like that.

The boy climbed all over them, giggling and telling them to wake up. Rufus barked along with him, too close to John’s ear for the younger man to be comfortable. Arthur was glad he wasn't the one that got attacked by a dog.

“Ow, Rufus, get off!” John scolded the poor Labrador and shoved him off himself and onto the floor.

Rufus quickly scrambled back onto the bed but stayed at the foot of it while Jack wiggled his way between Arthur and John, forcing them apart. “It’s tomorrow!” the boy announced, too excited to feel the cold in the room.

Still, he wasn’t immune to it so John quickly included Jack under the duvet. The boy snuggled into them with a giggle. “It’s tomorrow,” he repeated, grinning widely at them.

“Really?” Arthur asked jokingly, pressing Jack’s nose gently with his finger. The boy giggled again and hid his face under the duvet. “It’s so dark it can still be yesterday.”

Jack mumbled something. Arthur and John looked at each other with smiles. “What was that?” the latter asked, prying the duvet away from Jack’s face.

“It’s not,” he said.

“Not what?”

“Yesterday,” he explained, so full of energy he couldn’t stay still and turned onto his belly, taking too much space for such a small kid. “I checked. The calendar downstairs misses the page.”

They didn’t have heart to tell the boy they were ripping out the page before the day would end.

“It’s tomorrow then,” Arthur announced, making the boy shout in joy. Rufus joined with his bark. “How about we get you dressed and get breakfast ready?”

“And then we’ll play in the snow!” Jack decided, sitting up and bouncing in place. 

“Animals first,” John reminded his son. It was winter so there wasn’t as much to do as during spring but chores wouldn’t finish themselves. “We need to feed everyone, not only ourselves.”

“Can I feed sheep?” Jack asked, following them out of the bed. Arthur hissed when his bare feet connected with a cold floor.

“Sure, buddy,” John agreed, wrapping his arms around himself to conserve the precious warmth they just left. Arthur was already shaking too and if he wasn’t keeping his jaw tense, his teeth would be clicking together right now. They should’ve lit up the fireplace in their room last evening.

Jack on the other hand didn’t seem bothered, nor by the cold air or equally cold floor. But just to be safe and keep the boy from getting sick(Abigail would kill them for sure), Arthur scooped him into his arms and sat him back on the bed, wrapping a blanket around him.

“Wait for me and Pa to dress,” he told the boy.

“Okay, Daddy,” Jack nodded and curled with Rufus on the bed, playing with the Labrador while Arthur and John dressed quickly. But even after putting warm clothes it was still cold, so much so Arthur wanted to crawl back onto the bed and sleep just like John wanted before Jack ruined his plans. 

“Alright, mister, let’s dress you up,” John said, picking up his son along with the blanket and carrying him towards the door that was still open. “Start breakfast?” he asked, addressing Arthur.

Arthur nodded and clicked with his tongue at Bonny to follow him. They went their separate ways, John entering Jack’s room with the kid while Arthur and Bonny headed to the kitchen. He still wasn't used to having one after so many years on the road when the only kitchen was Pearson’s pot. He vaguely remembered his mother’s kitchen but now he had his own, in his own house.

Smiling to himself, happy with how life turned out for them in the end, he lit up the lantern in the kitchen and started gathering pans to prepare breakfast for himself, John and their son.

Son, he wasn’t used to that too. He never thought he would be lucky enough to have a child again yet here he was, listening to Jack’s laugh and John’s frustrated groans as he tried to dress the boy. Such a beautiful sound of a family. 

And what a family it was. After their gang was torn apart, Arthur didn’t expect it to ever be as big. It certainly wasn’t, not all the time, but it was just as precious, barely tied by blood in Jack being John and Abigail’s son. Other than that, they were just a bunch of friends that lived together on one ranch or came by visiting regularly like Sadie. 

With all those people, Jack was probably the happiest kid alive. And one of the most unique. Not every kid could say they have four parents, three of which were his fathers. Because to Jack not only John was his father, but Arthur and Abigail’s husband as well. And to him it was completely normal. Because if Arthur married Jack’s Pa – symbolically only – then he became Daddy just like that. Just like Mr. Campbell became another father when he married Mommy.

Simplicity of a child’s mind was amazing sometimes.

Jack, Rufus and John finally joined him, with the latter heading to the day room first to add more wood to the fireplace and keep the fire going. Meanwhile, Jack walked to Arthur and tugged at his pants to get his attention.

“What’s for breakfast?” he asked, trying to see what was in the pots. He was five already, going into six, but still small enough that he wasn’t reaching everywhere.

“I’m afraid there is not much to choose from with mostly eggs and potatoes available,” Arthur answered, chuckling at the disappointment on Jack’s face. “How about I give you some honey on your cornbread, huh? Would you like that?”

“I love honey!”

“Then it settled.” Arthur smiled at the boy and nudged him to one of the cabinets. “Get the plates ready will you?”

Jack eagerly went to help, carefully picking one plate at the time and carrying it to the table in the day room, Rufus always behind him. They boy passed John on the way here, who ruffled his hair fondly before joining Arthur in the kitchen. “Eggs?”

“Eggs,” Arthur confirmed with a chuckle, watching a couple of them boiling on the stove. “And sausage,” he nodded with his head at the frying pan where five sausages were already sizzling, letting out a pleasant aroma in the whole kitchen. “With some onion too.”

“Mmm,” John hummed in approval and hugged Arthur from behind. “I thought we would miss Pearson’s cooking but you’re actually better at this.”

“Pearson didn’t have a kitchen,” he pointed out, wiggling his arm from John's grip to stir the food on the pan. “And some of the meat we were bringing to him wasn't the best quality.”

John chuckled. “True,” he agreed, nuzzling into Arthur's neck. “I still remember when you brought a bat I think had rabies.”

“Thank god Pearson didn’t cook that,” Arthur laughed. “And you liked to bring rabbits your first horse killed while riding on him. Even though we told you many times it was useless.”

“At least Cooper had something to eat.”

“And sometimes foxes or coyotes that followed the smell of intestines squeezed out of the poor rabbit.”

Both men chuckled at that. It was nice to remember the good times in the gang despite how that part of their life ended.

“I'm done!” Jack announced, running back into the kitchen after bringing the last plate and fork to the table. Rufus announced the job done too with a happy bark and tail wagging.

“Good, go get the honey from the pantry,” Arthur told him next and the boy was gone in a second, happy to be useful. Unlike his father who was still leaning against Arthur and judging by the amount of yawns he was letting out, trying to nap with his head on Arthur’s shoulder. So Arthur jolted it, making the younger man grumble and wake up. “Make yourself useful and make coffee.”

“What? Oh, yeah, sure, sure,” he said and yawned again on his way to the coffee pot.

Seeing him do that made Arthur yawn too.

“Pa!” Jack shouted. “I can’t reach the honey!”

John was just pouring the water to the pot when Jack screamed for help. He looked at Arthur, begging him to finish for him but Arthur simply ignored him and continued humming as he cooked. John snorted and went to help Jack, nudging Arthur with the elbow on his way there. Arthur turned to him smirking, watching the younger man fondly before he disappeared in the pantry to help their son.

They returned both holding different things. John held Jack and Jack proudly held the jar of honey, showing it to Arthur. “Good job, Jack,” he praised the boy. 

“Pa helped,” he said, content in his father’s arms. “He’s so tall I could reach the highest shelf!”

“He’s unproportionally tall,” Arthur chuckled, watching John put Jack on the floor to finally get coffee ready. “His legs are the ones of a moose.”

“Fuck you,” John snapped at him, causing Arthur to laugh and Jack to giggle, even if the boy didn’t really understand what was so funny, he was simply happy. “What do you want to drink, boy?”

“Can I have a coffee?” he asked, following his father to watch him prepare the drink.

John looked down at him, frowning. “You hate coffee,” he reminded.

The boy shrugged. “Maybe I’ll like it now.”

“How about tea instead?” he asked. “You can drink mine or Daddy’s coffee a little if you want.”

“Okay,” the boy agreed and happily skipped to Arthur. “I’m hungry.”

“Just a little while longer, Jack,” Arthur promised him. “Go feed Rufus, I’ll be done by then.”

“Okay. Come, Rufus! Come, boy!”

Rufus barked excitedly and followed Jack back to the pantry where they kept canned meat for the dogs. They would have to feed the Australian Shepherds and cats later too. But them first.

Just like Arthur promised, they finished everything by the time Jack fed Rufus, spilling the food more around the bowl than into it. But the Labrador didn’t care if the food was on the floor or in the bowl, he hungrily ate everything and licked the floor clean.

After Arthur gave Bonny her breakfast as well, all three of them sat to the table and began eating, with the sun still not over the horizon, so the only source of the light was coming from the fireplace where some of the cats were napping, and a lantern they put on the table among the food.

Jack happily munched on his corn bread smeared with honey, passing some pieces to Rufus when he thought no one was looking. John, still half asleep, sipped his coffee, his food getting cold but he wasn’t bothered by it. Yet. Later he was going to complain no doubt. Arthur hasn’t touched his food either but just because he was peeling the shell from the egg for Jack. If he let the boy do that he would peel off half of the egg along with the shell. Or leave some altogether and Arthur didn’t want him to choke on it.

It was fairly quiet in the house and so it was easy to hear the door to Uncle’s room(well, it was a guest room but Uncle inhabited it while it wasn’t used by Sadie) opening and closing. Soon enough the old man walked to the day room, dressed only in his union suit and mumbling a ‘good morning’ while scratching his belly.

“Do I smell breakfast?” he said more clearly this time, his eyes shining after seeing the table full of food. 

“Hi Uncle!” Jack greeted him, spitting bread crumbs everywhere. Some of it was left around his mouth due to honey that was there as well.

“Hi, Jack.”

“Why am I not surprised you woke up because of food and not because of all the noises Jack was making for an hour now?” Arthur asked and handed Jack the clean egg. The boy let go of the bread and bite into the egg eagerly.

“I slept through worse in the past,” Uncle explained with a chuckle and walked closer, already reaching his hand for the food. “This looks mighty fine… ow!” he shouted when Arthur slapped his hand.

“Can’t you cook on your own?”

“You made food for Jack and John!” Uncle pointed out.

“Yeah, and for them and them only. Because Jack is a kid.”

“What about John?”

Arthur looked at John, looking a bit better after he drank his coffee but Arthur still wouldn’t trust him in the kitchen in that state.

“He’s my husband,” he explained simply. John smiled at him fondly and reached for his hand they linked together at the top of the table.

“And that makes him unable to use the kitchen?” Uncle asked with hands on his hips, watching them judgingly. 

Arthur shrugged. “What can I say, I’m a good wife, I cook for my husband,” he said proudly, squeezing John's hand in his and immediately getting a squeeze back. “Now go make your own breakfast.”

“You have no heart, Morgan,” Uncle accused him and walked away to the kitchen, complaining about no one caring about the poor old man.

“Tell me something I don’t know!” Arthur shouted after him and then shared a smirk with John before they joined Jack in eating.

Uncle was too lazy to make himself something and so he only grabbed a piece of bread from the pantry and a sausage, and sat down with them on the table. They were generous enough to let him drink their coffee at least and soon they were all listening to Jack telling in an overexcited voice how much fun they’re going to have in the snow.

After breakfast, it was finally time to take care of animals. They left the dishes for later and dressed Jack warmly, as well as themselves, before opening the door to the cold outside. 

“At least it didn’t snow us in again,” John noticed after stepping outside on the porch. Jack already took off into the deeper snow with Rufus and Bonny at his heels. “It doesn’t look like it snowed at all.”

“Thankfully,” Arthur agreed, rubbing his already freezing hands to generate some warmth. Winters in Wyoming were harsh but it was still easier with a house than on the road with the gang for so many years. But after spending most of them in the warm west, it still took some time to get used to so much snow and shoveling it during their first winter here.

Even now most of the ranch was covered under a thick layer of snow, with only paths leading to other buildings, closest space around them, their roofs, well, water pumps and horses’ paddock being free of it. Clearing everything else was pointless, it was snowing almost every day and cleaning a whole ranch would be too exhausting. They barely opened the door after the first night they got snowed in and spent the whole day clearing everything else from it to get to the animals or Charles living on the far end of the ranch.

They couldn’t even leave to the town right now, no wagon would be able to ride in those conditions. Horses could do better but even them would struggle and it wasn’t worth it. They were cut out from any other people. That’s why Jack was staying with them longer than it was intended to but they simply had no way to send him back to town to his mother and her husband.

Jack, while missing his mother, wasn’t complaining about it. He had friends in town, finally some other children to play with, but he loved being on the ranch as well and so being stuck here wasn’t any problem for him, he simply enjoyed the snow and he had plenty of it to enjoy.

“Lost in thoughts, cowboy?” John teased him when Arthur didn’t move for a while. Jack was already somewhere close to the buildings where they held sheep and goats, his laughs and dogs’ barking making it easy to locate him despite the world being dark around them.

They weren’t worried about him, he couldn’t run away too far with snow stopping him and Bonny and Rufus were scaring wild animals with their barks.

“Have a brain so I have to use it sometimes,” he responded playfully to his husband. Arthur couldn’t help but admire how good he looked in an orange glow of the lantern he was holding in his left hand.

The younger man frowned at him. “Are you trying to suggest I don’t have any?”

“You said it, not me,” he pointed out with a chuckle and wrapped his arm around John’s waist who huffed. “Come on, let’s deal with them sheep.”

Jack was playing in front of the door to the barn, throwing snow at Bonny at Rufus and watching them try to catch it. He stopped to run inside the barn when Arthur opened the door for them. They were instantly attacked by the cacophony of sheep screaming, demanding food and probably fresh water as well.

“Alright, calm down!” John shouted but didn’t have a chance to do it louder than twenty sheep at the same time.

He hanged the lantern in the middle of the barn and along with Arthur, got to work, entering the stall that held their animals. Cleaning took time but it still went faster with two of them, Jack only watched from where he climbed on the fence behind which sheep were held.

Just like John promised, he could feed the animals, taking some hay in his hand and offering it to the hungry sheep, being surprisingly stern about feeding only one at the time and making sure he didn’t feed one twice. Of course he didn’t notice when he did that couple of times.

While sheep were busy with Jack, Arthur and John finished with cleaning and changed the water in the drinker after cleaning it as well. Then finally it came time to start real feeding. Sheep lost interest in Jack when a bale of hay landed in their stall. John and Arthur separated it in smaller stacks so the sheep didn’t have to crowd just around one.

One done, three more to go.

With goats, it was pretty much the same, only those animals weren't as easily distracted, John and Arthur found themselves being licked, shoved and begging for pats constantly. Goats ran around everywhere and climbed just about anything, including each other. Thankfully they didn’t have any males anymore, those could be a real pain in the ass sometimes, especially while young. Females were much more easy to be around.

“You’re a good goat, ain’t you?” Arthur cooed at the one that was so stubborn in her begging he finally gave out and sat down to pet her. Now the goat was lying in his lap, enjoying Arthur stroking her side and neck while other goats roamed around them, asking for their own pats or simply trying to chew on Arthur's coat.

“You want me and Jack to leave you two alone?” John mocked from where he was filling the drinker with fresh water he just brought from outside.

“Jealous?” Arthur answered with his own question and smirked at the younger man while still petting the goat that, if it was a cat, would no doubt purr right now.

“That’s not even a worthy opponent,” John pointed out with a laugh. “What does this goat can give you that I can’t?”

“She can give milk.”

John snorted, putting his hands at his hips and looking at Arthur with a playful smile. “I can give you something white as well.”

Arthur laughed, startling the sheep in his lap. He was glad that Jack was too far, busy with petting other goats, to hear them, otherwise they would have to answer awkward questions they weren’t ready to answer yet.

Pleased with his reaction, John walked closer. “In fact, I gave it to you just a night before.”

Arthur smiled up at him. “And it was amazing,” he confirmed and gladly received a kiss that John gave him, bending down to reach him.

“Ew!”. They parted their lips when they heard Jack from the other side of the stall. He was covering his eyes but looking at them through his fingers anyway, his nose wrinkled. “Grownups are gross.”

Arthur and John both snickered. “Sorry, Jack,” Arthur apologized and stood up, placing another kiss on John's lips when the boy wasn’t looking, distracted by the goats.

It was horses’ time after the goats. By the time they left their building, the sun was finally up and with it, Charles as well. They could see him in front of his house along with three Australian Shepherds that helped him herding sheep outside of winter.

They were lucky to have Charles stay with them when he could’ve just returned to Rain Fall’s tribe after he was done helping them build their ranch. But he stayed and if it weren’t for them being stuck, he would’ve probably been on his way to town to visit a lovely lady that caught his eye this summer. And he caught hers. Charles was charmed with her and whenever he was done with work on the ranch, he would come visit her, returning well after sunset, looking absolutely smitten. Arthur and John had never seen him like that but it was a good look on him. He missed his woman like crazy now.

Like always, they waved at each other. Charles would probably join them later. While he liked spending most of his time alone only with his dogs, he was at their house at least once a day to talk or play cards together. Or just to sit with other people walking and living around him.

Horses were excited to see them, all of them getting their heads outside of the stalls to see the humans. Arthur just started to breed the horses, three mares were expecting to have foals after the winter but one was already there since this year's spring.

Jack ran to the Arabian foal who stood with his mother Snowstorm in their stall. The boy and the horse were already bonding since Jack declared it was his horse the day after the birth. Arthur was going to sell the foal or use him as a breeding stallion for his mares but he couldn’t just say ‘no’ to Jack or bear the disappointment in his eyes if he would sell the stallion.

So the foal, named by Jack as Brave Reginald for some reason, was his now and the boy couldn’t wait to start riding on him.

Just like with other animals, they cleaned the stalls, drinkers, and fed everyone but additionally, they also spent some time with their faithful mounts that helped them get where they were.

While they were there, Arthur fed two cats that lived mostly in the stable. He offered them meat and some scratches under the chin as a ‘thank you’ for keeping their ranch free of mices.

As last, they dealt with the chickens, checking if there weren’t any new eggs laid overnight. Taking care of the animals took over two hours and they could finally focus on the main event of the day.

Playing in the snow.

Because despite running and playing with animals already, Jack wasn’t even nearly done for today. He was still full of energy and tossed himself in the pile of snow after they left the chicken coop.

“Don’t get snow under your clothes,” John warned him, worried.

Jack didn’t even hear him, just started digging through the snow, Rufus and Bonny helping and soon the competition who would dig the bigger hole the fastest started.

“Don’t be so worried,” Arthur told him, standing next to his husband. “The kid hasn’t been sick once since we settled here.”

“Yeah? Tell that to Abigail when she comes to kick our asses for making her kid sick,” John responded, not taking his eyes from Jack.

Arthur chuckled. “He’ll be fine,” he assured, resting his arm on John’s shoulder and leaning into him. “And if he get sick, we’re stocked on medicine.”

John hummed, accepting the comfort as they watched Jack play. They were perfectly content just standing there and keeping an eye on their son but they both knew it wouldn’t last. Kids this young rarely liked to play with someone, it would be a few more years before Jack would want to be left alone most of the time. Right now, he was still convinced the best people in the world were his parents and soon enough, he was running to them to convince them to play with him.

“Let’s make snow angels!” he begged, tugging at John’s hand even though the younger man was already following him, Arthur right behind them.

“We’re going, hold your horses, boy,” John laughed.

They got onto the deeper snow, sturdy enough to hold them a little but they still sank knee deep into it. Lighter Jack didn’t have such a problem, thankfully, because the snow was capable of reaching Arthur and John’s hips, the boy would simply drown in it. He basically did when he threw himself on his back to make a snow angel. Giggling, he started waving his arms and legs.

“You make one too!” he rushed them.

Lying on the cold snow wasn’t very appealing to them but what else could they do? They looked at each other helplessly and with reassuring smiles, they stepped away from each other and fell onto their backs.

The snow crunched loudly in Arthur’s ears as his head hit it. Even with a thick coat protecting his back, he could still feel the cold slipping in through the material of the clothes. But he had to admit, it was nice to lay like that and stare at the grey sky above them. When he tilted his head a little, he could see Winds Range hovering high in the distance, completely covered in snow like the rest of the world seemed to be.

This was their home. Their place on Earth.

With a happy smile, he started waving his arms and legs like Jack, moving the snow out of the way to create a shape of an angel. He looked over at John lying nearby, his husband staring back at him with a loopy smile and Arthur’s heart skipped a beat.

Cold or not, playing in the snow to see this smile was worth it.

Jack stood up from the ground first, being careful to not ruin his snow angel. “Rufus no!” the boy screeched.

Arthur and John sat up to see the Labrador walking on the shape that Jack made, sniffing it curiously. Jack giggled and jumped at him, wrapping his arms around the dog’s neck to drag him away. “Bad dog!”

Rufus just barked and wagged his tail, happy despite the scolding.

“Just make another one, Jack,” John told him. “Plenty of snow for that.”

“Can you hold Rufus?” the boy asked, fighting with the dog who had a blast wrestling with the child. He was growling playfully and putting his paws on Jack, almost toppling him over. Bonny was much calmer, exploring and not taking part in the play.

John whistled and Rufus obediently came to him. He was Jack’s dog but because he was living on the ranch, he listened to John and Arthur just fine.

Jack moved to the clear patch of snow and Arthur and John watched him from their spots. The boy had a happy grin on his face when he fell on the snow again. Rufus wanted to join but John shushed him and the dog calmed down.

“Help me up!” Jack shouted when he was done.

They walked to him and lifted him by grabbing one of his hands to do it together. Jack laughed when he was lifted above the ground by them and held like that for a few seconds, kicking his legs in delight. When they settled him back on the snow, he turned back and looked at his snow angel.

“Is it pretty?” he asked, looking up at them with hope shining in his eyes.

“Best snow angel in the world,” John assured and crouched next to him to shake the snow from his hair.

“Ours have nothing on yours,” Arthur added, looking at the shapes he and John made.

Jack looked at them too. “They’re bigger,” he noticed sadly, dropping his head.

“But no better.” John nudged the boy’s chin to make him look up again. “We messed them up, look how crooked they are at the bottom.”

That was true, because they sat up earlier, there were now footprints on the shape. They didn’t bother to keep their hands away from the shapes during getting up either.

“I could lift you so they can look better,” Jack offered.

Arthur chuckled and adjusted the boy’s scarf to keep him warm. “Better not, we’re heavy.”

Jack nodded, not really disappointed. “Can we make more snow angels so those won’t be lonely?”

“Sure,” they agreed at the same time.

They made snow angels till they all got numb from the cold. Arthur was barely able to move his body; it felt so stiff, and just as he was about to stand up, a snow was thrown at him. He shouted shocked and jumped up as if he was burned. It felt like it when the snow got under his coat and touched his warm neck. Panting, he turned around to see a very proud looking John standing not far from the place where Arthur was just lying down, Jack hidden behind him and looking unsure but not being able to stop grinning.

It was obvious they both threw snow at him when he least expected it, but Arthur had his eyes only on John, glaring at him with what he hoped was murder. “I'm gonna kill you, Marston,” he growled, watching pleased as John took a step back, even if he was still smirking.

“Run, Jack, he’s about to get us!” he warned the boy and pulled him away from himself.

Jack ran away with a terrified squeal when Arthur rushed towards them but followed only John when the younger man took a turn, already knowing who was the primary target in this chase.

“You’ll pay for this, boy!” Arthur shouted at him, trying and failing to catch up to him.

John laughed cheerfully. “Only if you catch me!” he replied, not slowing down. The dogs ran after them, not really carrying who they were chasing. But Arthur could change that.

“Bonny, get John!” he told her. “Get him, girl!”

The Catahoula immediately changed her course and ran at John, being far more quicker in the snow than him.

“No, no!” John panicked when he turned around and saw Bonny right at his heels and then the dog jumped at him, easily throwing him off balance. He landed with Bonny in the snow, laughing when she started to lick him happily on the face, Rufus running around them and barking, scaring all the birds in the area.

“Ha!” Arthur shouted triumphantly and sped up as much as he could going through deep snow. “Good girl!”

Bonny stopped her assault on John and looked proudly at her owner, her tongue out and butt wiggling with the intensity of her tail wagging. John used that opportunity to throw her off himself but Arthur knew his husband wouldn’t be able to get up on time before he would be on him.

He could already see the dreadful expression on John’s face as he watched Arthur approaching when suddenly something hit him on the back. He stopped abruptly and turned to see Jack not far behind him with a snowball in his hands and a proud look on his face.

“Oh, now you won’t get away with this, boy,” he said in a low voice.

Just like the last time, Jack started running with a screech and he got only louder when he turned around and noticed Arthur advancing towards him, faster than the boy. He was squealing like a little piglet by the time Arthur got to him and caught him in his arms, lifting him from the ground.

“Got ya!”

“No!” Jack screamed and started wiggling in Arthur’s grasp. Arthur held him tight against himself with a grin, tickling the boy through the many layers of his clothes. Jack screeched and laughed, trying to get free but to no use. “Daddy, stop!”

“Oh no, no, you deserve it, boy!”

“Pa, help!”

Arthur laughed, not really surprised when he heard John running towards them but he certainly didn’t expect to be tackled from the side while he was still holding Jack. All three of them fell into the soft snow, tangled together so much Arthur didn’t know whose hand or leg was whose. And when he finally untangled himself from this pile of limbs, it was only to be caught from behind, his arms twisted behind him by John.

“What the…”

“Bring it to him, Jack, I got him!” John shouted, tightening his grip when Arthur started struggling to get free, which with all of his limbs numb wasn’t easy, even if John wasn’t any better right now.

Jack, who thankfully landed on the ground safely despite John’s irresponsible behavior, got up with a giggle and took a handful of snow before jumping between Arthur’s legs and throwing it right into his face.

The cold was horrible, he couldn’t help but yell because of it but it didn’t scare Jack away who quickly took more snow and threw it at Arthur again.

“Two against one!” he screeched over John and Jack’s laughs. “That’s not honorable!”

“We’re outlaws!” John reminded him, his whole body shaking against Arthur as he laughed.

Arthur spurted snow from his mouth after Jack's attacks. “Ex outlaws!” he replied, gritting his teeth when some of the snow fell under his clothes, down his chest. Jack laughed at his funny expression and rubbed the next portion of snow into his face as Arthur could only struggle and yelp helplessly in John’s grasp, dogs running around them and barking. “That’s what you call being a decent citizen?!”

“Assaulting your spouse doesn’t count!”

Arthur cursed under his breath when he was fed the snow again but shortly after, he laughed with his family, feeling his heart fill with fondness. But just because he liked the snow fight didn’t mean he wanted to lose to these two. When Jack was off him to gather more snow, Arthur propped his feet on the ground and pushed with his whole weight against John.

The younger man shouted, surprised and fell back, pushed into the snow by Arthur’s body, letting go of him in the process. Arthur turned quickly and sat on John’s hips, fighting off the younger man’s hands as he tried to protect himself from revenge that Arthur had in store for him.

Once past John’s defense, Arthur scooped the snow on both sides of his husband’s head and onto his face. John screamed from the cold and started spitting the snow from his mouth. “You fucking bastard!” he yelled at laughing Arthur, blindly swatting with his hands to stop Arthur from repeating what he’d just done.

John got another mouthful of snow before Jack jumped unexpectedly on Arthur’s back, attacking him with more snow. Arthur yelped when the snow got under the collar of his coat and shirt, and stood up quickly, the boy clinging to him like an opossum to its mom.

They both laughed and when John joined them after getting up, he laughed too while pushing the snow into Arthur's face again.

It went on for a while, always two against one. But even on the ground and tortured by his two most important people in the world, Arthur didn’t feel like he was losing. If anything, all three of them were winning.

When they finally decided to get back home and warm a little before they could get sick, now even Jack cold and with chattering teeth, Charles and Uncle were sitting on the back porch with something hot to keep them warm.

“Was it snowing when we weren't looking?” Charles asked with a smile after seeing them covered in snow. “You look like you’ve been caught up in a snowstorm.”

“Yeah, it’s called Jack and John,” Arthur answered, gratefully taking the offered drink from Uncle. “The Marston Snowstorm.”

“We fought with Daddy in the snow!” Jack explained further, waiting for his Pa to blow at his drink a little so he could have a sip too. “Me and Pa won!”

“Two against one?” Uncle chuckled. “That ain’t very fair.”

“Told them so too.”

“Shut up, you used Bonny first,” John reminded him with a big grin on his face, handing the mug to Jack and taking one himself. Arthur watched him for a few seconds, admiring the red cheeks he got from the cold. “You had it coming.”

“I guess,” he replied and drank from his mug. It was tea with honey and it tasted delicious.

“You better warm up inside,” Charles told them, scratching Rufus on the head when the Labrador laid down next to his feet, joining the pile that Australian Shepherds created. “Weren’t you going to bake a pie anyway?”

“Pie!” Jack exclaimed and after giving back the mug with tea to his Pa, he ran inside, leaving snowy footprints behind himself.

“Don’t run in wet shoes!” Arthur called after him, shaking his head at how much energy this kid had. He didn’t remember Isaac ever being this energetic. “Thanks for the drinks, Charles.”

“Actually, it was Uncle’s idea.”

Arthur and John both looked at him surprised.

“I have a heart, unlike some other people,” the old man teased.

“Yeah, yeah,” Arthur said dismissively but then smiled warmly at Uncle. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Uncle responded smugly as Arthur and John entered their house, Bonny always following her owner. Jack was nowhere to be seen but they could easily follow him after wet footprints he left behind himself.

So they did, drinking their tea on their way. Footprints led them to the kitchen first so they stopped there, finished their tea and left the mugs to clean later. 

Jack was in the pantry, still in his wet clothes and going from one shelf to another. A cat sat on one of them and watched him curiously. 

“What are you looking for, little man?” John asked, leaning against the frame and pulling off his gloves. Arthur was doing the same next to him, the coat getting heavier and heavier with all the snow, now water, soaking into it.

“We need to make the pie,” the boy explained, not even turning to them. “We need ingrends.”

“Ingredients,” Arthur corrected him and walked to the boy, picking him up in the middle of his search. Jack protested weakly. “We need to get you dry first, you don’t want to get sick, end stuck in bed and miss more fun in the snow, do you?”

“No,” he answered and let himself be carried to the day room. “But pie…”

“We have time,” John assured him, following them after scratching the cat on the head. They reached the day room where Arthur put Jack on the floor, next to the going fireplace but not directly in front of it to not wet the rug lying there. “It’s barely noon and we want it ready for the evening anyway.”

“Can we go out later too?” Jack asked them when they both helped to undress him, peeling off layer after layer from him. “Play some more?”

“Sure, we need to get the horses to walk a little,” Arthur answered. They undressed Jack to his union suit, which was dry thankfully, and only then put him directly in front of the fireplace. John grabbed the duvet from the couch and wrapped it around the boy while Arthur picked his wet clothes from the floor. “Wait for us, we’ll be right back.”

Jack nodded and picked one of his toys he left lying on the floor the other night and that got swept towards the fireplace by one of them before they went to bed. They learned the hard way that leaving the toys in the middle of the floor was a bad idea, especially for the night. 

They took the clothes to the bathing room where another fireplace was slowly dying. Arthur added more wood and started undressing himself, putting his and Jack’s wet clothes on the string hanging between the walls to get them dry. John added his own and looked longingly at the tub in the center.

“I could kill for a bath now,” he sighed. “But when we go out again later, I’ll get into shock and die, for sure.”

Arthur snorted and walked to him, wrapping his arms around John’s waist. The younger man smiled and placed his hands on Arthur’s hips, stroking them gently through the material of the union suit. “Once we bath Jack before bed, we go back and take a nice long bath ourselves, what do you say?” Arthur offered.

“I say you have a brilliant mind, Art,” he purred and leaned closer for a slow, lingering kiss.

Once they satisfied their need for affection, they left the bathing room and went upstairs for dry clothes for them and Jack, then after dressing themselves, returned to the boy, who in the meantime was joined by two cats.

“We need to warm up a little,” John mentioned when they sat down next to the boy once they dressed him back. “What do you want to do before we go back outside?”

“Can we play checkers?” he asked, climbing onto his Pa’s lap.

“Sure.” Arthur patted Jack’s knee and stood back up. “I’ll go for the board.”

Checkers were a great way to pass the time till they would have to bake the pie and later dinner. Jack really liked this game, more than chess and to be honest, so did John and Arthur. Chess were always too complicated for them and because they were always losing with Dutch or Hosea in the past, they were getting too frustrated to really learn the game. It looked like Jack inherited this from his father.

Jack was well into third round, adding a story to the game, always imagining they were moving knights or soldiers on the board so it never got boring(Arthur and John, or whoever was playing with him then, would always let him win) when John looked up the time on the clock standing on the fireplace and nodded at Arthur. Arthur nodded back and moved a confused Jack from his lap where the boy was sitting at the moment, and handed him to John.

“Going to make dinner, Jack,” he explained himself.

Jack was satisfied with that answer and got back to the game, explaining John once again who they were defeating this time.

Unlike breakfast, the dinner was made for everyone so even Uncle got his piece of chops, potatoes and vegetables when Arthur was done. Charles also joined them and all of them spent the dinner talking about the spring work on the ranch and other things, with Jack including his opinions even if he didn’t know what the adults were talking about at times.

After dinner, Uncle and Charles stayed with Jack in the day room while Arthur and John cleaned everything. When the last plate was cleaned, Arthur dried his hands and John walked closer to the door, hearing Jack talking with passion about something. Smirking, John leaned against the wall near the door, casually crossing his arms over his chest.

“Jack, want to bake that pie?!” he shouted. The story the boy was telling was cut short suddenly and heavy footsteps of him running could be heard before he barged into the kitchen with an excited grin. Both men chuckled at the boy’s enthusiasm. 

“What do we need?” Jack asked, jumping in place.

“I should have Abigail’s recipe somewhere there,” Arthur answered, looking through the drawers.

“Abigail’s?” John snorted, picking up Jack to put him on the cupboard. “I don’t think it will be edible then.”

Arthur felt bad for smiling at this but John was right, Abigail’s cooking was horrible, as they discovered while traveling to Wyoming.

“It isn’t hers,” Arthur calmed his husband. “Maybe it won’t be so bad if we follow instructions.”

“I’ll let you try it first when you two are done.”

“We?” Arthur repeated and addressed Jack. “Your Pa is already trying to bail on us, Jack. He doesn't want to bake with us.”

“No!” Jack protested, looking at John with big, sad eyes. “You need to bake with me and Daddy!”

John looked at their son, the boy not yet knowing he won this round. As any other.

“Sometimes I miss the time when I was immune to those eyes,” John admitted with a sigh.

“Oh how fatherhood turns even the hardest man into weak and soft daddy,” Arthur teased and patted John on the cheek. John scowled at him. “One of the best feelings in the world if you ask me.”

“Yeah, it is,” John agreed, the scowl replaced with a soft smile.

“Is Pa baking with us then?” Jack asked unexpectedly.

Both men let out a huff of laughter. “Yeah, I'm baking with you,” he promised the boy and turned to Arthur. “If Daddy will find the recipe.”

“I’m on it, calm down.”

He finally found it and they could start, with Jack happily carrying every ingredient from the pantry or the basement. He only needed help with flour and dried apples, those were too heavy for him but Arthur and John were happy to help.

To say the baking was a mess would be and understatement. Not because they couldn’t bake, they baked their own bread regularly so that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that Jack was a messy cook, like any kid in his place would be, and he couldn’t really contain his boundless energy. So they just let him do whatever he wanted, mostly because true to Arthur’s words, fatherhood made them soft and they couldn’t just scold the boy for wanting to have fun in a new exciting way.

By the time they put the pie in the oven, everything in the kitchen had flour handprints on it. The only one clean was Bonny and only because Arthur told her to stay outside of the kitchen and she didn’t budge even once. The flour was lying both on the table they used to form the dough and around it. They weren't free of it either, with Jack being the most covered, because he didn’t care if his hand was covered with flour when he scratched his nose or head. He looked proud and happy because of helping so much and that was the most important, not that he was dirty now.

“When will it be ready?” he asked just as the oven was closed.

“Certainly not before we clean you up,” John answered playfully and picked Jack up. “You look white like the snow outside.”

“Can we go back now?”

“Sure, after we get you presentable,” Arthur responded. “Clean him and I’ll clean here.”

“We’ll come help after,” John promised.

“You, sure, but leave Jack in the day room, he’ll make a mess again.”

“Sorry,” Jack murmured and curled into John.

“Not angry at all, buddy,” Arthur assured him, kissing the boy on the forehead. “Go clean up with Pa.”

After putting on other coats and shoes in their possessions since the first ones didn’t dry yet, the three of them left to let horses walk a bit and stretch their legs. With so much snow, the foal wasn’t the only horse playing once free on the paddock. The horses ran around and tossed in the snow happily, just like Jack a few hours ago. With sights like that, winter wasn’t so bad. 

The boy got his chance to play again when they got horses back into their stalls. Jack wanted to fight in the snow again but as much fun as it was, Arthur didn’t want to get covered in snow for the second time today and John agreed with him. Jack was disappointed but they cheered him up quickly by offering to build a snowman with him.

They spent the next hour building the best snowman in the world according to Jack and proudly showed it to Charles and Uncle later. Jack didn’t really want to go back later, but when Arthur mentioned that the pie should be ready by now, they didn’t need to convince him to go back. They actually had to stop him from rushing off to the kitchen and getting the pie himself. The boy couldn’t stay still when they were taking off all the heavy clothes of him. He was so excited they really wanted the pie to turn out perfect or at least edible. Disappointing him would probably be too painful, more for them than for him.

That’s why Arthur was feeling nervous when he opened the oven and with two thick rags to protect his hands, he proceeded to take off the pie. Jack was watching with John, the boy anticipating and John as nervous as Arthur, clenching his fists like he was ready to fight for his life.

Even through the protection, Arthur felt the heat anyway. He quickly pulled out the pie, afraid that he would drop it if he held it any longer. That would really break Jack’s heart.

On the outside, the pie looked good and cooked. But they still didn’t know how it was inside.

“Let’s wait for it to cool down a little.” It was written in the recipe and Arthur was really glad for that but it was only delaying the inevitable. Unless they could make Jack forget about that pie, which seemed impossible with the delicious smell that filled the whole first floor of the house.

“Why can’t we eat it now?” Jack asked, looking at the pay with hungry eyes.

“You’ll burn your tongue, son,” John explained. “And it’ll hurt your tummy.”

“I’ll blow on it,” Jack decided, making his fathers laugh.

“Just a half an hour,” Arthur promised, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Let’s read a little to pass the time, okay?”

The half an hour felt like three minutes. For them, because Jack complained a lot, asking what time it was and if they could eat the pie finally. Even looking constantly at the clock didn’t make the time slow down like usual and soon enough they were back in the kitchen, with Arthur doing the honors and cutting the pie.

It was still hot inside and steaming a little but Jack wouldn’t wait more, they had to hope it was ready and it would cool down on the plate where they set the first piece. Jack licked his lips seeing the pie being placed on the cupboard where he was sitting.

“Maybe we should try it first,” John suggested.

“No, I want the first bite!” Jack protested.

“Pa is right, buddy.” Arthur smiled at the boy apologetically. “We don’t know if we can eat it.”

“It looks just like the one Momma makes,” Jack swore, already eating the pie with his eyes.

Arthur still didn’t think it was a good idea, even if the worst that could happen would be a slight food poisoning. But they didn’t want to see their son throwing up and having fever, they would rather suffer that themselves. But Jack wanted so badly to eat it first and both men were having a hard time refusing him that.

“First bite but very tiny,” John proposed the solution and looked at Arthur, Jack already in for that idea.

Arthur shrugged, not really sure, but what one small piece could do?

“Okay,” he agreed and put the small piece on a fork, putting it to Jack’s lips. He took it back right away when the boy almost swallowed the whole fork. “Blow first,” Arthur reminded him.

Jack obediently blew the cold air on the piece and then took it in his mouth, his eyes growing in a second and causing Arthur and John to panic.

“This pie tastes so good!” he exclaimed. “Can I have another bite?”

Arthur and John laughed with relief, looking at each other and not believing how silly they were acting just a moment ago.

“You can have a whole piece,” John answered as Arthur gave Jack the fork.

The boy picked up the plate and started eating so eagerly they needed to remind him to slow down.

The pie was really good just like Jack said. Crunchy on the outside with sweet but a little bitter apples in the inside, practically melting on their tongues. John and Arthur had their pieces, as well as Uncle and Charles. Even Rufus got a piece after Jack tried to be sneaky with feeding him human food again. 

The pie was gone within an hour.

Their little family sat down in the day room after that. Charles and Uncle were nowhere to be seen after they got their pie, Charles most likely returned to his little cabin and Uncle was probably drinking with the horses.

It got dark already and the snow started to fall from the sky. Jack laid on his belly in front of the fireplace, drawing something with his crayons, with both Bonny and Rufus lying nearby and keeping guard. Arthur was sitting next to him, sketching their snowman in the journal and writing about today when John joined them, holding two glasses of whisky in one hand and a mug of warmed, condensed milk with melted chocolate and some honey in the other.

“Here you go, Jack.” He handed the mug to the boy who abandoned his drawing to attach his lips to the mug, drinking the sweet drink.

“Thank you, Pa,” he said after a few sips, his upper lip already brown with chocolate milk.

John smiled at him fondly. “You’re welcome.” He sat down next to Arthur who closed his journal and put it away to take the whiskey. “And this is for you, dear.”

“Thank you, darling.” 

With the same fond smile, John closed the gap between them and kissed Arthur sweetly. “My pleasure,” he purred affectionately. 

Arthur returned his husband’s smile and they settled against each other comfortably, sipping their whisky and staring at the flames inside the fireplace, with Jack being back to drawing in front of them.

Both men rested their heads together and sighed, content.

Getting up so early was worth it. 


End file.
